Half Korean and TaeKwonDo black belt Ben Henderson dominates Nate Diaz to retain UFC belt

Benson Henderson’s second title defense was more decisive than his first.

After earning a questionable decision win over Frankie Edgar earlier this year, Henderson (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) left no doubt against challenger Nate Diaz (16-8, 7-6), retaining his lightweight title in Saturday’s UFC on FOX 5 main event at Seattle’s KeyArena.

Henderson dominated all aspects of the five-round headliner, which marked the pay-per-view company’s first network-televised title fight in more than a year.

The bout featured two well-rounded fighters, with Henderson’s base in taekwondo and Diaz’s in a slick jiu-jitsu game. Henderson, though, dictated both the location and the pace of the fight. After chopping away at Diaz’s legs with low kicks, Henderson easily scored takedowns, where he remained on the mat just long enough to deliver some heavy ground and pound before avoiding the challenger’s submission attempts.

Additionally, Henderson battered Diaz on the feet and landed 124 significant strikes to Diaz’s 30, according to FightMetric. The blows resulted in knockdowns in the second and third rounds, and final scorecards of 50-43, 50-45 and 50-45.

The dominance clearly frustrated the usually ill-tempered Diaz, who forced FOX cameras to cut away from the televised action after flipping off the champ in-fight a half dozen or so times.

For Henderson, who’s gone to the scorecards in all of his UFC fights, it wasn’t just about the dominance; it was about how long he maintained it thanks to his renowned conditioning and durability.

“It’s just a matter of being well-prepared and being in the gym as much as possible,” Henderson said. “All these guys want to talk about being fighters and they train this hard. Nate obviously trains his butt off. He’s freaking tough as heck. But at the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., that’s what we’re all about.”

via Ben Henderson dominates Nate Diaz to retain UFC belt.